Chapter 877: Can Chinese Football Possibly Be Inferior to the Barbarians?

This World Cup is the most exciting in recent years.

These were Morgan’s exact words on his radio show.

On the same radio program, Morgan also clearly expressed his support for Portugal, consistent with his longstanding view—that Cristiano Ronaldo is greater than Messi.

The Portugal–Argentina semifinal certainly has appeal, but the China–France grudge match may have even more. At least in ticket prices, the grudge match is about 15% more expensive.

Rodri, De Jong, and De Ligt all fell in the campaign against Tang Ye and were mercilessly beheaded.

Next up is Dembele—can he stop China’s advance? That’s a question worth serious thought.

Tang Ye and Dembele are both characters; late at night, past 11 p.m., they kept interacting on Instagram as if their match had already ended.

【Dembele: Why did we get drawn against China? (crying) (crying) (crying).】

【Tang Ye: Haha, don’t worry, we’re not as strong as you think. Don’t stress.】

【Dembele: No, Tom, I mean—I’m kind of embarrassed to knock you out.】

【Tang Ye: …】

【Tang Ye: (middle finger) (spanking) (insults)】

【Dembele: Do you think if I win the semifinal, I can win the Ballon d’Or next year?】

【Tang Ye: Sure, bro, I think you can. (thumbs up)】

They chatted from 11 p.m. until past 1 a.m., treating Instagram like WeChat—endless replies stretched long, each post getting at least five hundred likes.

Dembele was truly abstract—he directly asked Tang Ye if he could win the 2023 Ballon d’Or. You’d be hard-pressed not to suspect these two were paid by Meta to boost traffic on Instagram.

…

【Dengzi, you finally showed your ambition? I knew Dembele had bad intentions! Tang Ye should’ve killed him before he rose up.】

【Dengzi: Tom, how heavy is the Ballon d’Or trophy? Can I even lift it?】

Luckily, this year’s Ballon d’Or voting has already ended; otherwise, with this World Cup added in…

Alright, unless Dembele scores ten goals in the next two matches, this year’s Ballon d’Or will still be Tang Ye’s.

Overall, Dembele’s chance of suppressing Tang Ye and winning the Ballon d’Or is under 1%, yet he still talks big.

Whether or not he can take down the big brother, he’ll at least hype himself up during the World Cup—otherwise, once back at the club, he’ll have nothing left to do.

In Dembele’s home country of France, his remarks sparked fierce support from fans, even inspiring memes and short videos.

【Title: What’s on the Other Side of the Mountain?】

Slap!

Slap slap!

Atlantic waves crashed against the shore as AI-swapped Dembele walked forward alone.

He looked ahead—a massive mountain rose from the seabed, towering into the clouds.

No matter how fierce the Atlantic waves, they couldn’t harm the mountain even slightly; you could almost feel its divine presence through your phone screen.

At the peak above the clouds, you’d see a pink pig’s face stuck on the summit, beneath it the Arabic numeral “10.”

This mountain forcibly split the beach from the opposite shore of the Atlantic, blocking beachgoers from seeing the golden, glowing ball trophy on the other side.

The protagonist gazed far off and began muttering to himself.

【What’s on the other side of the mountain?】

【You don’t need to tell me】

【I’ll go see for myself】

The scene shifted: Dembele in the French jersey faced Tang Ye across the void.

【Paris time, December 15, 6 p.m., Qatar World Cup semifinal: France’s Sword That Slays Gods】

The so-called “French God-Slaying Sword” is merely Gini Ondoumba, who is constantly overshadowed by Tang Ye in the Ballon d’Or rankings.

Compared to France, China’s AI-swapped videos were far more brazen.

“It’s bad! It’s bad!”

In a magnificent palace, several eunuchs rushed in: “The barbarians’ army is coming!”

“How outrageous!”

Cixi, swapped to look like Tang Ye, was furious: “Rather than groveling for survival and bringing shame to millions, better to raise a mighty force and settle this once and for all. How could the great Chinese football be inferior to the barbarians?”

“Declare war on France!”

…

Diario Sport—Even if China cannot defeat France, they still favor Tang Ye for the World Cup Ballon d’Or.

Owen predicts the China–France score: France 3–0 China.

Editor-in-Chief of Mundo Deportivo: The so-called “France’s Sword That Slays Gods” doesn’t exist. To beat China, France must equally value both flanks, or risk devastating consequences.

Recently, major media outlets have been advising Escrivá, searching for any clever tactic to pull off an upset against France.

Fans’ imaginations ran wild, even proposing “theoretically feasible” abstract tactics.

Meanwhile, French fans were equally tense.

No choice—China is this World Cup’s biggest underdog; Spain and the Netherlands, both previously dismissive, are already home. France may have superior strength, but they must still stay vigilant.

The fans’ standoff led to a pre-match magical duel: Chinese supporters unveiled a tactic, French supporters immediately studied it and devised a counter—like solving a chess endgame.

For example, Chinese fans introduced the “Five-Layer Pork” tactic (Tang Ye playing as a fullback to contain Dembele). Within ten minutes of posting online, French fans countered with the “Turtle-Bro” tactic (Mbappé and Dembele both sprinting down the flanks)—because no matter how strong the pig or how thick the pork, individual ability has limits.

Five-Layer Pork vs. Turtle? No problem!

Five-Layer Pork vs. Bro? No problem!

Five-Layer Pork vs. Turtle-Bro?

Big problem!

Turtle-Bro isn’t one person—it’s two. That’s already beyond single-marking.

As for other absurd tactics—swapping red cards, brawling in the tunnel, James disguising as a forward—these fall outside real competition and are just fans hyping themselves up.

The truth is: you can’t bet on China winning the World Cup just because you dreamed it. There’s always a gap between dreams and reality.

…

Match preview: December 16, early morning, China’s first-ever World Cup semifinal against defending champions France.

Marca predicts China–France starting XI: Dembele and Mbappé overwhelm Tang Ye.

Republished from The Telegraph—France’s official media released a semifinal promotional poster: “Slayer of Gods.”

…

Time quickly arrived at match day; the streets of Doha, Qatar’s capital, were plastered with posters of all four semifinal teams.

French fans, obsessed with YouTube videos, used Dembele’s “France’s Sword That Slays Gods” poster regardless of copyright.

Thus, Dembele’s photo gazing at the mountain was printed on tiny flags—French fans held one national flag in their left hand and one “France’s Sword That Slays Gods” flag in their right, looking utterly cool.

“Dembele!”

“Dembele!”

“Mbappé!”

“Kylian Mbappé!”

“Beat Tang Ye!”

In truth, due to the connection between Tang Ye, Dembele, and Mbappé, Chinese and French fans had always maintained a relatively friendly rapport.

But this friendliness only extended off the pitch—on the field, when they met, neither side could hold back; victory was mandatory.

To cheer for their team, French fans chanted their slogan: Football cannot have only one king.

Football is fair—every outstanding player deserves praise.

Only when two kings, like Messi and Ronaldo, constrain and challenge each other can fans witness truly brilliant football.

But what are we watching now?

Tang Ye leading Manchester United to crush the entire world!

This won’t do!

Fans resent Manchester United, yet lack the power to defeat them.